The Lamb as Effigy

by Sprain

The Lamb as Effigy cover art
  • Type: Album
  • Released: 1 September 2023
  • Label: The Flenser, Flenser
  • Country: United States
  • Length: 1:36:38
  • Community rating: 4.31/5 from 47 ratings

Artists on this release: April Gerloff, Sylvie Simmons, Alexander Kent, Clint Dodson

Album Notes & Community Reviews

Sprain's final album, 'The Lamb as Effigy', is a 96-minute work of punishing and intricate experimental rock, noted for its sprawling compositions that merge the abrasion of noise rock and no wave with drone and avant-garde classicism. The production is intentionally dense, employing a vast instrumental palette that layers orchestral strings, piano, and numerous other textures over the core band's intense performance to create a sound that is both immense and harrowing. Lyrically exploring themes of God, guilt, and sex, the album serves as a definitive and monumental statement, cementing its legacy with the band's abrupt disbandment just one month after its acclaimed release.

Genres

Descriptors: experimental, long-form, noisy, dynamic, punishing, dissonant, abrasive

Tracklist

  1. Man Proposes, God Disposes (07:09)
  2. Reiterations (06:42)
  3. Privilege of Being (05:28)
  4. Margin For Error (24:36)
  5. The Commercial Nude (10:54)
  6. The Reclining Nude (12:56)
  7. We Think So Ill of You (04:15)
  8. God, or Whatever You Call It (24:38)

Credits

  • Clint Dodson - drums, bells, vibraphone, synthesizer
  • April Gerloff - bass guitar, synthesizer, bells, engineering
  • Sylvie Simmons - guitar, bugle, bells, recorder
  • Alexander Kent - vocals, guitar, bells, hammered dulcimer, autoharp, banjo, mandolin, piano, organ, glockenspiel, synthesizer, harmonium, singing saw, orchestral chimes, accordion, recorder, gong, samples, engineering, production, string arrangements, art direction
  • Ulrich Krieger - saxophones, contrabass clarinet, string arrangements, conductor
  • M谩t茅 Tulip谩n - saxophones, cover model, moral support
  • Kyle Bates - synthesizer
  • Eric Poulin - french horn
  • Tal Katz - cello
  • Jayla Tang - violin
  • Kris Rahamad - violin
  • Joy Yi Saba - viola
  • JJ Golden - mastering
  • Jason Schimmel - engineer
  • Tim Green - engineer, mixed by, producer, oscillator, patience
  • David Blandeur - cover model
  • Siyon Ji - photography
  • Zengyi Zhao - photography, image editor
  • Suzanne Yeremyan - layout, design

More from Sprain: full discography